Display form



Nov. 28,1939. LHL RE'NEKER 2,181,325

D Is PLAY FORM I Filed June 2, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR Grene/rerPatented Nov. 28, 1939 UNITED STATE .eATENT OFFICE.

DISPLAY FORM Lillian L. Greneker, New York, N. Y. Application June 2,1938, Serial No. 211,401 9 Claims. (01. 223-68) My present inventionrelates generally to display forms, and has particular reference .to ade- Vice which simulates the human body.

It is a general object of the invention to provide an improved displayform, intended primarily for use in store windows and the like, tosupport and display womens garments.

One of the main objects of the invention is to I provide a display formin which the medial or waist portion is flexible so as to permitadjustments of the simulated human figure into various adjustedpositions.

A more particular object is to provide an adjustable or flexible waistportion which is so constructed and arranged that accurate life-likecontours of the waist portion, the abdomen, the

small of the back and the hips are always maintained.

A characterizing feature of the present construction lies in theemployment of-a tubular element comprising hingedly connected superposedrings whose shapes conform substantially to the corresponding superposedribs of the human body. The rings have fiat outer surfaces which serveconjointly to define a substantially smooth surface conforming quiteaccurately to the contours of the waist and hip portions of the humanbody. The device is. therefore admirably adapted to support a tailoredgarment, even a relatively sheer snugitting gown or the like, withmaximum. eifectiveness. v

The rings are articulated by connecting portions each of which projectsinwardly, defining an annular groove or channel of substantially V-shaped cross-section. In this way, adjustments of the rings relative toone another are accom: panied by life-like variations in the contours ofthe waist, the hips and adjacent portions. ofthe body that is simulated.

It is a particular feature of my invention to construct the rings sothat the Side portions are downwardly curved in the form of invertedarches while the front portions are upwardly arched, and so that the'rear portions of the lowerrings are of undulating shape; these specialconfigurations serving to enhance the simulation of hips, and adjacentregions.

In a preferred construction, the tubular ele ment is composed of asingle piece of form-retaining material such as rubber or itsequivalents. Preferably, the tubular element is formed of two spacedwalls, the inner one serving as a.

reinforcement and being spaced from the outer wall except at the upperand lower end 0f the reiati'vely rigid portion being arranged between,

tubular element, where it unites with the outer wall.

per relatively rigid chest portion, and a lower pelvic portion, theflexible waist with the smooth contours of the waistportion mergingwith, and thereby forming continuations of, the smooth contours of theupper and lower rigid portions of the display form.

In order to maintain the two rigid portions in predeterminedspacedrelation, while n everthe-- less permitting limited relativeadjustment=, it is a feature of my invention to provide a flexible theaccompanying drawings in which-- Figure 1 is an elevational frontview'o'f the central portion of a display form. constructed inaccordance with my present invention,

Figure 2 is a side view on a somewhat enlarged scale,

Figure 3 is a rear view, on the same scale as Figure 2,

Figure 4 is a front view on the same scale as Figure 2, showing thewaist portionin an adjusted position. I I

Figure 5 is a greatly enlarged cross-sectional view taken substantiallyalong the line 5-5 of Figure 2, 7

Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially along the line6-6 of Figurel,

Figure? is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sec tional view through thelower portion ible waist element, and

Figure 8 is a view similar to Figure 7 showing a modification.

Referring to Figures 1 and 5, the chest portion Hi is relatively rigidby virtue of the arrangement, at its base, of the rigid block I l whichmay be of wood or othersuitable material. This block is provided on itslower surface with a recess l2 of the fiex The display form consistsessentially-of an up adapted to accommodate the upper end .of theflexible post hereinafter to be described. Similarly, the pelvic portionI3 is relatively rigid by virtue of the arrangement at its top of theblock !4, of wood or the like, provided with the recess l5 adapted toaccommodate the lower end of the flexible post.

The outer surfaces of the chest and pelvic portions l t and I3 may beconstructed in any desired or conventional manner, and merely forillustrative purposes, I have shown surface coverings it which may be ofany suitable material. These details form no part of the presentinvention, and need not therefore be described. Similarly, the detailsof the head, the arms, the legs, etc., are omitted from the drawings andwill not be referred to herein, it being understood that any desiredconstruction, assembly or articulation, may be resorted to.

The important point is that the upper and lower portions Ill and it haveexternal smooth contours simulating the corresponding portions of thehuman body, these contours merging with, and being completed by, theexternal contours of the flexible waist portion.

This waist portion is in the form of a tubular element designatedgenerally by the reference numeral l l and comprising a series ofsuperposed rings l8. These rings have fiat outer surfaces, as will beclearly observed from the drawings, and the shapes of the rings are ofsuch a character that they conform substantially to the correspondingsuperposed ribs of the human body, whereby the flattened outer surfacesof the rings conjointly define asubstantially smooth surface, conformingquite accurately to the contours of the corresponding portions of thehuman body.

I draw particular attention to the fact that the side portions of therings, designated by the reference numeral l 9 in Figure 2, aredownwardly curved in the form of inverted arches at the middle of thesides, while the front portions of the rings, observed most clearly inFigures 1 and 4,

are upwardly arched. This enhances the simulation of hips and abdomen,especially during adjustments of the rings relative to one another. Itwill also be observed that the rear portions 2!! of the lower. rings,seen most clearly in Figure 3, are of undulating shape. This enhancesthe simulation of the concavity in the region of the small of the back.This concavity is further enhanced by bending the rings inward, as shownat H in Figure 6, adjacent to the lower portion of the waist element.

The rings are articulated or hinged by inwardly projecting portions 22(see Figure '7) which are substantially V-shaped in cross-section,thereby defining annular grooves. These V-shaped connecting portionspermit relative adjustments of the rings so that the display form may bebent at the waistinto various adjusted positions which simulatecorresponding bent postures of the human body. Merely by way of example,I have shown, in Figure 4, the manner in which the rings adjustthemselves when the display form has the waist portion bent toward theright. It will be observed that the ring portions at the right side ofthe body come into close proximity to one another, while the oppositering portions, at the left side of the body, become slightly morespaced. These adjustments are possible by virtue of the fact that theV-shaped connecting portions 22 contract and expand, as will be clearlyapparent from a comparison of the full-line showing of Figure 7 with thedot and dash representation of the corresponding parts.

' The important thing to note is that life-like contours are maintainedduring the adjustments, whereby the display of garments, evenclosefitting dresses or gowns, is capable in an unusually attractivemanner.

In the preferred embodiment the waist portion is composed of a singleelement of form-retaining flexible material such as rubber, the rings l8being thus integral portions, along with the connections 22, of a singlepiece. Preferably, this tubular element incorporates an inner wall 23which is spaced from the outer wall and which is of undulating characterwith its peaks in alignment with the rings, and with its valleys alignedWith the connecting portions 22. This inner Wall serves as an efiicientreinforcement for the entire structure and merges with the outer wall atthe upper and lower ends of the waist portion, these ends being securedto the rigid portions l0 and 13 by means of tacks 24, or nails or otherfastening means. The inner wall 23 is preferably formed of the sameintegral piece of material as the outer wall, the entire structure beingcapable of being molded as a unit.

In Figure 8, I have illustrated a modification in which the rings 25 areseparate elements of relatively rigid material, and are hingedlyarticulated by means of outer and inner coverings 26 and 27. Thesecoverings may be of cloth or other flexible fabric, and each ring iscompletely sandwiched between a strip 26 and a strip 27, stitches 28serving to hold the ring in place. The two superposed ends of thecoverings 26 and 2! are then secured by stitching 29 to thecorresponding ends of the coverings for the adjacent ring. This providesthe inwardly projecting connecting portions, of substantially V-shapedcross-section,

. hereinbefore exemplified by the portions 22 of Figure '7.

The rings 25 of Figure 8 have the same shapes as the rings hereinbeforedescribed, and the device functions in every respect exactly the same asthe preferred form.

The flexible post between the chest and pelvic portions consists of thenested inner and outer tubes (ill and 3! shown most clearly in Figure 5.These tubes are suitably secured, as by welding, to metal plates 32 and33 mounted in the recesses l3 and 55 respectively. Each tube consists ofa spirally wound strip, preferably of metal, the strip having anS-shaped cross-section whereby each convolution of the spiral interlockswith the adjacent convolution. A spirally wound tube of this characteris well known per se and has heretofore been employed as a flexiblesupport in a variety of arts, including display forms. It is aparticular feature of my invention, however, to wind the inner tube 3!)in a direction opposite to that of the outer tube 3|. One tube thusreinforces the other, and prevents either tube from becoming loosened,through wear and tear, to a degree which would impair the efficientfunctioning of the device.

It will be understood that the flexible tube is form-retaining, i. e.,it is adjustable into bent positions, as shown in Figure 4, but itretains whatever limited curvature is imparted to it.

The uniquely efficient nature of the present display form isattributable, I believe, not only to the novel flexible waist portion,but also to the conjoint use of this flexible element with the flexiblesupporting tube in its interior, because it is this cooperative actionof the parts which so accurately simulates actual adjustments of thehuman body at the waist portion.

It will, therefore, be understood that changes art Without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention as' expressed in the appendedclaims. It is, therefore, intended that these details be interpreted asillustrative, and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, and illustrated its use, what Iclaim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is- 1. In a displayform simulating the human body, a flexible waist portion composed of atubular element comprising hingedly connected superposed rings of fixedpredetermined sizes, said rings having flat outer surfaces conjointlydefining a substantially smooth surface conforming to the contours ofthe waist and'hip portions of the human body, and said rings beingdownwardly arched at the middle of the sides of the waist portion andbeing upwardly arched at the front thereof to enhance the simulation ofhips and abdomen, whereby adjustments of the rings relative to oneanother are accompanied by lifelike variations in said waist and hipcontours.

2. A flexible waist portion as set forth in claim 1, the rear portionsof the lower rings being of undulating shape to enhance the simulationof the concavity in the region of the small of the back.

3. A flexible waist portion as set forth in claim 1, the hingeconnection between each two rings comprising an inwardly projectingportion of substantially V-shaped cross-section.

4. A flexible waist portion as set forth in claim 1, said tubularelement comprising two spaced walls, the outer wall defining said ringsand hinged connections, the inner wall serving as a reinforcement spacedfrom the outer wall, saidwalls being united at the upper and lower endsof said tubular element.

, 5. In a display form simulating the human body, a rigid chest portion,a rigid pelvic portion, and a flexible waist portion between said rigidportions, said Waist portion being a tubular ele ment secured at the topto the chest portion and at the bottom to the pelvic portion, saidelement comprising hingedly connected superposed rings of fixedpredetermined sizes, said rings having fiat outer surfaces conjointlydefining a substantially smooth surface which merges with the surfacesof said chest and pelvic portions and conforms to the contours of thewaist and hip portions of the human body, the side portions of the ringsbeing downwardly curved and the front portions being upwardly arched toenhance the simulation of hips and abdomen.

6. In a display form, the combination with the elements set forth inclaim 5, of a flexible but form-retaining post arranged in the interiorof rigid portions to support the chest portion in predetermined spacedrelation from the pelvic portion. 1 1

7. In a display form, the combination with the elements set forth inclaim 5, of a flexible but form-retaining post arranged in the interiorof said tubular element and extending between said rigid portions tosupport the chest portion in predetermined spaced relation from thepelvic portion, said post comprising nested tubes of spirally-woundmaterial, said-tubes spiraling in opposite directions.

' said tubular element and extending between said M 8. In a display formsimulating the human body, a flexible waist portion composed of atubular element comprising hingedly connected superposed rings of fixedpredetermined sizes, said rings having fiat outer surfaces conjointlydefining a substantially smooth surface conforming to the contours ofthe waist and hip portions of the human body, the side portions of therings being downwardly curved and the front portions being upwardlyarched to. enhance the simulation of hips and abdomen, wherebyadjustments of the rings relative to one another are accompanied bylife-like variations in said waist and hip contours, the hingeconnection between each two rings comprising an inwardly projectingportion of substantially V-shaped cross-section, said rings andconnecting portions being formed of a single element of form-retainingrubber.

- 9. In a display form simulating the human body, a flexible waistportion composed of a tubular element comprising hingedly connectedsuperposed rings of fixed predetermined sizes,

said rings having flat outer surfaces conjointly rings and connectingportions being formed of a single element of form-retaining flexible material.

LILLIAN L. GRENEKER.

